3mm BendSafe® Cable
Optical cable production is a very mature manufacturing process. Cables containing optical fibers protected with polymeric jackets are available in a variety of diameters depending on application requirements. As one can imagine, the thicker the jacket the better the protection for optical fibers. However, in practice, thick, rigid cables are not convenient for use in many situations. Providing just the right amount of protection for optical fibers has thus become the main consideration in cable manufacturing.
Taking the advantages of the superior mechanical strength of BendSafe® fibers, all of POFC’s optical cables are made in 3.0 mm diameter specifications. It is worth pointing out that although other optical fibers can be made into 3.0 mm optical cables as well, the protection such optical cables provide is insufficient. A previous study* of the mechanical reliability of optical cables has shown that for cable diameter less than 4.3 mm, the lifetime of the cables using standard optical fibers can be over 1,000 times lower than would be required in actual service. This is owing to Fatigue behavior. While no optical fiber is completely break proof, 3.0 mm BendSafe® cables, with mechanically toughened optical fibers offering a Fatigue Factor of >29 (compared with as low as 18 in traditional optical fiber), are the best choice for meeting the difficult challenges of the modern working environment.
*:”Reliability Consideration for Next-Generation Bend-optimized Fibers”, by D. Mazzarese, P. Weimann, R. Norris, and K. Konstadinidis, OFS, P.269 of the Proceeding of the 57th IWCS, 2008.
As optical cables face many new applications, the mechanical strength of the underlying optical fiber has become a major issue. BendSafe® cables utilizing mechanically strengthened BendSafe® fibers are capable of withstanding nearly all cabling deployments that require robustness against tight-bending, sharp-turning, strong-pulling and crude handling during installation, assembly and daily usage. Adoption of BendSafe® allows customers to reduce costs associated with labor, time, maintenance, storage and transportation, while extending the service life of the cabling.